A Dragon Family Thanksgiving
by StBridget
Summary: Steve, Matt, and Danny travel to New Jersey for Thanksgiving. AU Dragon!Danny verse. McDanno established.


Hawaii Five-0 is property of CBS and its creators.

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"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Steve McGarrett asked his partner, husband, and soulmate Danny Williams for the umpteenth time.

"It'll be fine," Danny replied, also for the umpteenth time. "Besides, we're already in the air. It's not like we can change our minds now."

"Are you sure Matt's going to be okay?" Steve fretted, looking at the infant asleep on Danny's lap. "He's never flown before."

Danny laughed. "He's a _dragon_ , Steve. I don't think flying's going to bother him."

Steve frowned. "Yeah, but this is different. And that brings up another point. What if he shifts? He can't exactly control it all that well yet, and you're the one always concerned about what people will think."

"He'll be _fine_ ," Danny said again. "We've never had problems with him out in public." Steve gave him a Look. "Well, we've never had problems when _I'm_ holding him," Danny amended.

Steve had to concede the point, but he still had misgivings. "Why couldn't they just come to Hawaii? Why do we have to fly all the way to New Jersey?"

"Believe me, babe, you do not want the whole family descending on you. This way at least we can escape to the hotel room."

"Your parents were out for our wedding," Steve pointed out.

"Yeah, but we're not just talking about my parents. We're talking the whole family, parents, grandparent, great-grandparents. . ."

"Matt's?"

"No, mine. Dragons are notoriously long-lived, though they are getting up there, hence us going there. They're determined to see Matt before they die."

Steve was starting to get a bad feeling about this. Scratch that. He already had a bad feeling about this. It was getting worse. "Just how many people are we talking about?"

"Well, let's see," Danny began listing people. "There's my parent, my sisters, Mom's parents, Dad's parents, Mom's grandparents. . ." The list went on and on. Steve lost count at 20, and that was just the adults. It sounded worse than one of Chin and Kono's family reunions. Steve was starting to feel like a fish out of water, and he hadn't even met everyone—or even anyone—yet. Holidays at his house had always been just him, Mary, and his folks. He couldn't even begin to get his mind around a Williams family Thanksgiving, and they were all dragons to boot.

"Not all of them," Danny said, reading his mind. "A couple of them married humans, like I did."

"Yeah, except I turned out to be a dragon," Steve pointed out.

"It'll be _fine,"_ Danny said yet again. Matt stirred in his sleep and burbled in seeming agreement.

When they reached New Jersey, they were whisked off to their hotel in a hired limousine, then show to their luxurious suite. Steve was awed. The first-class airplane seats had been pretty amazing, but this was way more luxury than he was used to. He started to protest the expense—Danny was paying for it all—but stopped. He forgot how well-off Danny was, since he tended to live on just his cop's salary. Steve actually didn't know how much money Danny had, but he knew Danny's savings account was several hundred thousand dollars (he'd found that out when Danny had added his name to the account), and Grace's trust fund was fully funded for any college she'd want to go to (also discovered when Danny added him as a trustee). Apparently, golden dragons had a thing for finances. Steve supposed he shouldn't have been surprised given Danny's brother Matt's prowess (before he got himself in trouble with the feds and a drug cartel), but he still had trouble picturing simple Danny Williams as a financial genius.

Danny bustled about getting Matt settled while Steve tried to get used to his surroundings. "I was thinking about a quiet evening in, just ordering room service and hanging out, maybe getting some quality time for just the two of us," he said with a wink, "before we have to face the hordes tomorrow."

"Uh, yeah, sounds good to me." Steve really wished he had more time to prepare himself for the onslaught, but work had been crazy, and they hadn't been able to get away any sooner. .Resting up sounded like a good idea. They were there until Sunday, and Steve had a feeling this was the last time he'd have Danny to himself before they got back to Hawaii.

The next morning, Danny woke Steve at the crack of dawn, throwing the covers back with a cheery "Up and at 'em, Steve!"

Steve groaned a made a futile grab for the covers. "Geez, Danny, I thought I was the morning person, but I'm still on Hawaii time. It's the middle of the night."

"Doesn't matter," Danny said, still unusually perky for him at this hour of the morning. "We've got places to go, people to see. It's all hands on deck for prep."

"You know I'm lousy in the kitchen," Steve said.

"Yes, but you've got mad knife skills, and believe me, there's plenty of thing to chop."

Reluctantly, Steve got dressed and let Danny call a cab to take them to the fairgrounds, where the Williams clan had rented the Exhibition Hall. Steve was stunned by all the people packed into the space, so many that it made the vast expanse look small. He was immediately mobbed by relatives, cooing over him and Matt, clutched protectively in Steve's grip like a lifeline. After a while, Danny shooed them off, handing Matt to his mother, who cooed over her grandchild and whisked him away to a corner set up for him while Danny and Steve headed into the kitchen to help out.

Steve was surprised to see that, except for the number of people, the gathering was surprisingly ordinary. Pretty much everyone was human, except for a bunch of men in half-dragon form in the corner, enthusiastically gutting the turkeys they'd gotten from a dragon turkey farmer with their claws. Steve looked longingly at them until Danny urged him to go over and help. Steve approached hesitantly, afraid he wouldn't be welcome, but he needn't have worried. The men greeted him with open arms and raunchy jokes, immediately accepting him as one of their own. Steve lost himself in the satisfying task, forgetting his worries for the time being.

While the meal cooked, the gathering took a more dragon-y turn. The youngsters shifted, roughhousing and wrestling with each other, and the men shifted for a game of dragon football out on the grounds, which Danny enthusiastically joined in. Steve did as well, after checking on Matt, who was in dragon form gleefully chasing after a ball thrown by one of the human cousins. Steve couldn't help but grin. Matt was so full of life, so like a puppy when he chased after his toys. Danny said Steve was the same way, and Steve had to admit he liked to chase balls almost as much as Matt did.

Playing football with a bunch of dragons was an interesting experience. Flying was outlawed, but catching balls with jaws as well as claws was perfectly acceptable. Plus, Danny's family was all golden dragons, lithe and agile. Steve with his purple dragon bulk was great on defense, but couldn't possibly hope to keep up on offense. Still, he had a great time.

Finally, it was time for dinner, and the family sat down at rows of long tables. Steve, Matt, and Danny were seated with Danny's immediate family. Most of the people had settled into half-dragon form, so Steve and Danny followed suit. "Who carves the turkey?" Steve asks.

Danny laughed. "We all do, babe. Watch." With that, Danny reached out and snagged the nearest turkey, tearing off a hunk.

His mom slapped at him. "Manners, Daniel. Wait your turn."

"Sorry, Mom," Danny said unrepentantly, eagerly downing one of his slices and passing one to Steve. Even Matt got a tiny piece. He didn't have teeth as a human yet, but his dragon jaws were more than powerful enough.

Steve had to admit he enjoyed the dinner. There was something about having a large family that made it special. He certainly didn't need to spend all his holidays surrounded by 100 of his nearest and dearest, but once in a while was nice.

Towards the end of the meal, things started getting a little out of hand. It started with Matt, in full dragon form, leaping on the table and making a dash for the sweet potato casserole, burying his snout in it before one of the uncles pulled him out, laughing. Steve was horrified.

"It's okay, babe," Danny said, chuckling himself. "Happens every year, and not just with the little ones," he added, nodding to a nearby table where one of the aunts had shifted and tipped a bottle of wine back with her jaws. "Watch Aunt Helena. She gets a little handsy when she's drunk."

"Good to know." Steve made a mental note to avoid Aunt Helena. He had no desire to fight off an amorous dragon, unless that dragon were Danny, and then he wouldn't be fighting. He caught a flash of flame from a dragon at another table. "I thought golden dragons didn't breathe fire."

"That's Uncle Vincent," Danny said nonchalantly. "He's half red. Just make sure to stay away unless you're in dragon form, and you'll be fine."

Next to Steve, Danny's dad burped and shifted. _"'Scuse me."_ Steve felt, more than heard the apology. He couldn't sense most of Danny's relatives, but the soulmate bond and his purple dragon abilities made him able to pick up slightly on Danny's parents and sisters.

Around the room, more and more dragons were getting tipsy or burping and shifting. Matt got the hiccups and winked in and out between dragon and human form. Danny picked him up and held him until he settled. "Is it always like this?" Steve asked, horrified.

"Yep," Danny replied. "Welcome to a Williams Family Thanksgiving."

It was late in the evening when the cab dropped them back at the hotel. Steve was exhausted, and Matt was sound asleep in Danny's arms. Even Danny looked tired. They got Matt settled and crawled into bed, cuddling up together. "I wish Gracie were here," Steve said.

Danny laughed lightly. "I'm sure she doesn't. She's been to her share. I think she's just as glad Rachel and Stan claimed her this year."

Steve joined in the laughter. "Yeah, I can see that. I'm not sure I'm up for it every year."

Danny kissed him lightly. "Don't worry, you've done your duty. You're off the hook."

"Thank God!" Steve said, heartfelt.

Danny laughed again. "You know, I never got a chance to say what I'm thankful for."

"What's that?" Steve asked.

"My family."

"All hundred of them?" Steve said mischievously.

Danny smacked him. "No, you goof, though I'm thankful for them, too. My little dragon family, you, Matt, and Grace."

Steve pulled Danny tighter to him. "Yeah, I'm pretty thankful for that, too."

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A/N: Any ideas for Christmas?


End file.
